Several persons, including a heavily-pregnant woman, were injured last evening following an accident on the East Coast of Demerara (ECD) public road, in the vicinity of Ogle, where a Route 44 minibus collided head-on with a private car which was ferrying a patient to the Georgetown Public Hospital.
Ruth Sam awaits medical attention at the GPH last evening while sitting behind her is Phulmat Ganesh g who was grimacing in pain.
Those who sustained injur-ies included Ganesh Jagan, 78, of La Bonne Intention (LBI) Housing Scheme, ECD; his wife Phulmat Ganesh, 68; their daughters Sahadrie Sukdeo, 52 and Shanti Ganesh said to be in her 50s; the driver of the car, whose name was given as Kenneth of LBI; Ruth Sam, 34, her niece Carleia Stewart, and Sam’s mother Lorna Drusis, 52, all residents of Plaisance.
Jagan sustained injuries to his head and feet, his wife, who was being taken to the hospital when the accident occurred, sustained several cuts about the body. Their daughters also bore several cuts and bruises about their body. Sam, meanwhile, sustained bruises and cuts to her left knee, right temple and her left instep; her mother sustained a cut to her forehead; while 2 year old Carleia escaped with minor scratches to her body.
The accident occurred around 6pm last evening and according to eyewitnesses who spoke to Stabroek News at the scene, one of the traffic lights at the junction had seconds earlier changed to green, allowing traffic to proceed east along the highway, while traffic proceeding west waited for the light to change from red. According to an eyewitness, as soon as traffic proceeding east was allowed to go, the Route 44 minibus BHH 5251, which was bound for Plaisance, turned right for the Ogle airstrip road when the car, which reportedly had its hazard lights illuminated, proceeded into the path of the minibus, resulting in the two vehicles colliding head on at the busy junction. The eyewitness related that after the accident the driver of the car explained that he ‘drove through the light’ since he was trying to reach the hospital with a patient.
The Route 44 minibus which was involved in the accident last evening.
Speaking to Stabroek News last evening at the Georgetown Public Hospital (GPH), Sam, who is 7 months pregnant, related that she was sitting in the conductor’s seat of the minibus along with her mother and niece when the accident occurred. She said the minibus driver was waiting for the “light to turn green,” and was at the time attempting to turn into Ogle Road “to catch the line –top.” She said as the bus moved off, she looked up and saw the car “coming out of no where” from the opposing lane, slamming into the front of the minibus. A traumatized Sam said her mother pitched through the minibus door on impact.
Ganesh Jagan’s relatives expressed fits of anger and anxiety as the elderly man lay on a stretcher outside the Accident and Emergency (A&E) department of the GPH awaiting medical attention. The man was bleeding from his ears and mouth and was gasping for breath as his anxious relatives stood outside of A&E.
The drivers of both vehicles were last evening being questioned by ranks at the Sparendaam Police Station. (Alva Solomon)
Ah wonder when dem goh bring in de 26 seater bus.
A 26 seater would’ve simply meant that the injured would’ve been larger. Its a safety issue not size.
Lets look in the bright side, there were no fatalities and the all the passengers will live to see another Christmas.
A 26 seater would’ve simply meant that the number of injured persons would’ve been more. Its a safety issue not size.
Lets look on the bright side, there were no fatalities and all the passengers will live to see another Christmas.
hey rdman i think that is not a bad iday because them 26 seat but will b the government 1 and so it will b government ppl will drive it so them have to take them time that is what going on in bim here
51 Seats and 10 standees. Drivers with lots of experience. That added up to verrrryyyy ffeeeeewwww accidents involving buses causing few injuries to and deaths of passengers!!! Remember when????
Prase God it could have been worst
I recall one traffic Commissioner who said, “Speed thrills and kills!”
Another one said, Accident just don’t hapen, they are caused!”
We never listen, do we?
This just makes me so angry,why are the injured persons including a pregnant woman sitting there waiting unattended? I think that PHG is getting from bad to worse,and the driver of that car should be in Brickdam lockup,period!
You can’t behave like a freaking ambulance just because you’re taking a patient to hospital! Gosh, so much ignorance on the roads!
La Dorada. You said it for me. I said it before and I’ll say it again. There is a culture of sustained ignorance ingrained in some guyanese, due in part to their lack of reading and non critical thinking.
La Dorada
I will be going to the mall in a lil while…
I will try putting on me four way flasher to see if anyone will stop and give me the right of way so I can reach the mall in flash…..incase you dont see me blog here tomorrow then you will have known they didnt give me the right of way to make de mall….eheheheheheheheheheheh………
I know “freaking” is not the word you really wanted to use seeing such nonsense drivers do on the roads….
oh…dont worry…we ave em here in toronto too….
some put on their signal to turn right on the lights but come straight through….
Merry Christmas::::::
Mek haste and come back hey yeh.
La Dorada
im back…i made it…too much big truck on de roads…ah teck me time and didnt put on me 4ways….ehehehehehehe
Why does the car driver think he has the right to put on his hazzard lights and go trough a RED LIGHT he should be ban from driving. Ok give him the benefit of the doubt even if so be the case he suppose to slow down like any other emergency vehiecle and when its safe to doso then he can.
wrckless driving caused this accident..thank god no one was killed hope those who suffer injuries will recover soon..if drivers don’t respect sirene why you think they will respect hazard lights flashing.that how most of the mini bus drivers stay they just want to make money and don’t care about other road users once they can get passengers and make more trips..
True Guyanese please read and try to understand the car driver is totally at fault according to Ms Sam who was the pregnant woman in the Mini bus and the car driver himself. Hope everyone hurt recovers fully especially my country woman Ms Sam I hope her baby is okay.
you are not true guyanese. we guyanese drive fast, accident is accident.
another supit accident thank god no one as kill
bring back PNC mode of transport pleazeeeeeee…..
horses pulling busses….plzeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee….
pnc where are you when we need you????????
eheheheheheheheheheheh
People will still get killed. Imagine two former minibus drivers holding the reins on two fully loaded horse carts galloping full speed down Homestretch Ave. Ben Hur all over again, but with plenty of passengers.
Minibus drivers should take extra care when driving.Proceed with caution even when you have the green light….and look out for the idiots who have no respect for the road,they are all over..
and the carnage will continue if motorists don’t observe the road codes, and if they drive without due care and attention. And it helps if motorist are trained and tested before they get their licenses.
That’s just the problem: they don’t know the road codes, they were not trained and they never attended one day of driving classes. They just ‘bought’ their licenses for the unreceipted cost’ of thousands of dollars.